


Always with you

by rainbow_teatime (peachymintyskies)



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Alternate Reality, Dreams and Nightmares, M/M, Reincarnation, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-04
Updated: 2014-10-04
Packaged: 2018-02-19 20:46:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2402327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peachymintyskies/pseuds/rainbow_teatime
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nino owned a teddy bear since he was a kid. He calls it Oh-chan. Oh-chan, unbeknownst to Nino, has been fighting off all of his nightmares.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Always with you

"Oh-chan..." a 7-year-old Ninomiya Kazunari said to his light-brown teddy bear with a blue ribbon around its neck, "I shall call you that, Oh-chan!"

  
"Why are you calling it that, Kazu-kun?"his mother asked with a smile. It was the boy's 7th birthday and she had gotten him the teddy bear he had wanted for a long time.

  
"Because he is big! Just look at him!"The young boy exclaimed, holding up the bear and comparing it to his own height.

The teddy bear "stood" in front of Nino, its soft feet just touching the floor and top of its soft, fuzzy head resting against Nino's nose. His mother laughed and patted her son fondly on the head.

  
"Well, I believe that Oh-chan wants to sleep now. It's getting late and he is tired." his mother said, leading Nino to his bed, tucking him in and kissing him goodnight.

  
"Goodnight, mom, "Nino murmured sleepily as he brought the teddy bear in bed with him, wrapping his arms around its cuddly torso.

  
Soon after Nino was fast asleep,  the brown glass eyes of the bear glistened lightly in the dark.

  
Suddenly, something shifted in the darkness of the room. A faint,barely audible moan broke the comfortable silence in the room. The shadows in the room shook lightly... And started to bend, stretching across the walls and ceiling, descending slowly towards Nino to engulf him in pitch black darkness. Nino shifted in his bed uncomfortably, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead as his eyes squeezed shut in the middle of a nightmare. And suddenly, the shadows stopped.

A gurgling, choking sound of a shadow stealer tore out through the room as a wooden sword was stabbed into the shadowed ceiling, and the huge teddy bear somersaulted in the air, landing soundlessly on the floor as he watched the huge shadow writhe in mid-air before separating, only to start merging again a second later. The teddy bear quickly leapt up to grab the sword from the ceiling before taking a skilful swing at the dark entity. Driving his sword through the shadowed entity, he leapt back down on the ground as a shriek rang out again in the room, and the shadows separated themselves to return to the walls and ceiling just like before. The teddy bear then toddled his way back to his master, sitting on the bed and patting his head with a furry paw. Nino's fearful sleeping expression was soon gone, and a satisfied smile took its place.  The teddy bear settled back down under the covers, cuddling close to his sleeping master, keeping one eye open to the surroundings until the crack of dawn.

  
*7 years later*

  
A 14-year-old Ninomiya Kazunari burst into the room, burying his head into the pillows.

  
"They are not real.."he chanted, "theyarenotrealtheyarenotrealtheyarenotrealtheyare..."

  
He sat up for a moment and looked at his "Oh-chan", who presently sat on his bed just centimetres away from him, the smile on his face as gentle as ever.

  
"They had better not be real, those killer clowns," Nino said to no one in particular as he inched his way closer to the bear.

  
"Oh-chan, you are no killer clown, right..." Nino murmured, then chuckled gently, "so you won't kill me, ne?" With that, he gave the bear a brief hug and left the it on his bed as he headed for his table to do his homework. The teddy bear directed its eyes discreetly at Nino, its brown glass eyes watching him fondly.

  
It had been 7 years since "Oh-chan" had joined the Ninomiya family. Everyday would start with him in Nino's arms or accidentally slumping towards the floor. After he had left for school his mother would put him back into place as he cleaned up his room. When left to his own devices, the curious teddy bear would wander wround the room, looking curiously at the stacks of mangas and handheld console games that filled his master's shelf, along with some books.

  
And then when he knew that his master would return soon, he would resume his place on the bed and waited with a smile on his face until he came home.

  
Sometimes, Nino would simply lie on his bed with his game console and ignore him completely. Sometimes, Nino would sit at his table with his homework.. and then doze off on his table. Some other times, he would be lying down on the bedwith his manga, reading and taking no notice of anything around him.

  
But it was alright with him- because every night, without fail, Nino would straighten out the covers on his bed to make room for him before hugging him to sleep, in complete oblivion to what his true calling as a teddy bear was. Deep in his thoughts, he felt something move in the room and looked up at his master, only to see him sleeping on his table with his homework. Just then, a sharp knife drove into the wooden closet door from within.

  
The teddy bear hopped off the bed, his wooden sword in tow as he confronted the closet. Soon enough, the doors flung open, a strong stench wafting into the room as a psychotic killer clown leapt out of the closet, its monstrous jaws open, baring a set of razor-sharp teeth.

  
His brows knit together in concentration as he quickly dodged the clown's lunges. With a brainwave, he ran towards one small, old toy box, reaching inside to extract a glass marble. With quick reflexes and an accurate aim, he threw the marble into the air and swung at it with the butt of his sword. The marble shot threw the air as fast as a comet... and landed in the clown's agape mouth. The killer clown coughed and choked, and while it was distracted, the teddy bear lunged at it, stabbing it with its sword. The clown growled in agony as its body dropped on the floor, turning into a dull shade of grey before disintegrating to nothing. The teddy bear turned to see Nino close to waking and ran towards the bed, hiding his sword and returning back to his position.

  
"That was a strange dream..." Nino murmured as he sat up. He stretched and looked at the teddy bear sitting on the bed and smiled.

  
"Let's sleep, Oh-chan," he said.

 

*Another 7 years later*

  
"Wow, Nino. I never knew you were such a gamer," Sho said as Nino led his best friend into his room. He was now a 21-year-old college student and had moved out of his room into his dormitory. His room had become significantly more roomy than it had been before.

  
"Well, I bring some games with me from time to time," Nino said.

  
"A-Oh my. What is this?" Sho asked as he pointed to the giant teddy bear sitting on the bed.

  
"Hmm I've had that ever since I was a kid. It's a present, I think," Nino said.

  
"Wow.. it must be really old.." Sho said, "shouldn't you at least get a new one?"

  
"I'm not sure. Well... I'm kind of too old for stuffed toys after all," Nino said.

  
"And you're never old enough to play Mario games, heh," Sho snickered.

  
"Oh, shut up and get out of my room. I need to change," Nino said.

  
Sho laughed and made his way out. Being alone in his room, he looked at the teddy bear smiling at him.

  
"I think it's about time, don't you think?" Nino said, walking towards the bear and giving it a hug. The teddy bear was smiling, but somehow deep inside...he felt hollow.

  
The evening wore on slower than ever for the teddy bear. It was not the fact that he might be discarded that saddened him. It was separation from his master that was too much for him. What if those night monsters and bed creepers come back again? Who will fight them off then? There was also the fact that watching his master grow from a bratty young boy of 7 years to a handsome 21-year-old just made him wish that he never had to part with him in the first place. There was something that made him fervently wish he was like his master- a feeling. But alas, the teddy could not put a furry paw on what it could be. He only knew that he wanted to be with his master for as long as he could.

Seeing that it was alone, the teddy bear climbed onto the windowsill and sat down, staring at the setting sun, silently wishing that for just once, he would be able to be just like his master- a human. That way, he could protect him forever.

But knowing that it was a wish that never really came true, he went back down on the bed and sat, waiting for the night to come. After all, it was the last night that he could ever protect him.

  
Nino settled back down onto his bed, looking at his teddy bear. Something about it just made him want to cuddle with it a little longer. Was it its furry, adorable form? Or was it the comforting feeling that washes over him whenever he hugs the bear like that? Well, either way, he knew that it would have to go.

  
Just as he was wondering what he should do, he drifted slowly off to sleep, arms wrapped around the teddy bear.

  
The teddy bear carefully wriggled out of his hold as he stood by the bed, ready in position. Just then, a small piece of paper fluttered down from the top of the shelf down onto the ground. The teddy bear slowly walked towards it, looking at the paper.

And there, in poorly scribbled letters of red crayon, read two, chilling words.

  
**_"Missed us?"_ **   


  
He whipped out his sword and stared up at the shelf, and behold, three of Nino's greatest nightmares had appeared  
above the shelves.

The shadow stealer slithered swiftly down the shelves. The killer clown leapt in the air with its knife, and finally an accursed porcelain doll with a bow and arrow fired several shots at him. The arrows missed, knocking over an empty drinking glass. The glass toppled and crashed on the floor, and Nino awoke. And there in his room, he froze in a mixture of surprise, shock and horror as he watch his teddy bear come alive,  valiantly attempting to fight off the three monsters that had haunted his childhood dreams.

  
"O-O.... oh-chan.. "Nino mumbled, "it was you all along?"

  
Those words fell on deaf ears as the teddy bear continued to battle against the three monsters. The shadow stealer was easy to subdue, but the killer clown was not. And the accursed porcelain doll, even less. Finally, the teddy bear swung its sword at the clown, ready to finish it when an arrow flew through the air, knocking the sword off its hands and pinning it to a nearby wall.  The bear looked at the doll, who presently made an unexpected move, drawing its bow and arrow and aiming it at Nino.

  
Nino gasped in horror and tried to move away, but realised that he could not move.

  
"What is this?! Sleep paralysis?!  AT THIS MOMENT?! " Nino panicked as he watched the doll draw back her arrow, ready to release it any moment.  The teddy bear, presently wrestled to the ground by the clown,  pushed it away with all its might and leapt through the air towards Nino... within doll's firing range.

  
The doll grinned and fired its arrow.

  
Nino screamed in fright,  but nothing came out. The bear landed on Nino's chest, hugging him and bracing itself for the arrow... When he heard a loud thud on the ground.  The bear turned to see the clown fallen motionless on the ground, an arrow impaled through its chest.  It had probably jumped up to attack him and Nino, forgetting that the doll was about to shoot them. The doll doll, realising its miss, took out another  arrow, determined not to miss again.  The bear hurriedly took the knife from the clown and sprinted bravely towards the doll,  before hurling his weapon at the doll with all his might.

  
The doll screamed as the knife struck her chest, her hand releasing its grip on the bow and arrow... Which struck the teddy bear in the chest.

  
"OH-CHAN!!!!!!! " Nino screamed silently,  tears flowing out of his eyes.

  
Both toys fell to the floor, the doll breaking into bits, and the teddy bear lying on its back.  The teddy bear struggled on its feet, taking slow, unsteady steps towards the paper and red crayon that lay a distance away.  It then scribbled something on the other side of the paper before making its way slowly towards the bed.

  
Nino watched the bear staggering on its furry feet towards him. The smile that seemed to stay on its face in spite of its obvious pain made him want to cry harder. The bear settled on his lap, leaving the paper in front of him before sitting down beside him. Nino looked down at the paper before breaking down into tears as he felt the teddy bear leaning its furry body against him.

 

_**"All dreams are but another reality. Never forget...** _

_**My sun sets only to rise again. "** _

  
Nino's eyes fluttered open, his tears streaming down his face.

  
" So it was a dream..  It was all but a dream... " Nino thought as he looked beside him to see the teddy bear still there beside him, with no arrow in its chest.

  
" Oh-chan, you scared me.. " Nino murmured and hugged the bear, only to catch sight of the piece of paper lying just a short distance away.

  
Nino then realised that everything that had happened was real -  this bear had been his companion since childhood, fighting off his nightmares whenever he had them so that he could wake up to another day, and knowing that it was its last night with him, the bear had given its all in protecting him from all of his greatest nightmares in hopes that he could live without him.  Nino sobbed into the bear's furry torso, knowing that the guardian spirit of the bear must be gone.  Far away from him...

  
Wait a minute.

  
He looked at the second line scribbled on the paper.

  
**_"My sun sets only to rise again."_ **   


  
He laid back on his bed, wondering what the bear had meant, hugging it close to him tearfully for the last time.

  
Daybreak came, and Nino shuffled out with his teddy bear in hand, smiling at it in knowing that its guardian spirit must be in a better place. He looked at the waste bin just outside his apartment across the road.

  
"I wonder if all teddy bears go the same way, " he thought, looking at his bear in deep thought, holding it out in front of him as he crossed the road.

Just then, a truck came speeding on the road towards him.  Nino was only alerted by the sudden honking and a loud " IT'S DANGEROUS! " and in a matter of seconds he was shoved to the ground, bundled away from the road unto the other side as the car sped by.

Nino winced in pain as he tried to sit up, only to see a worried face in front of him.

  
" Are you okay, sir? " the man asked,  concerned.

  
".. Un. I'm fine. Thank you,"  he nodded gratefully, looking at the man in front of him- tanned, short, chubby cheeks on a rather handsome face.

  
"Do be careful when you are crossing the road, " the man advised with a gentle smile on his face.  Something in Nino's heart jumped out at him at that smile.

  
"...  Are you going to throw that away?"  the man asked, looking at the bear.

  
"Well, I've outgrown it... " Nino explained.

  
"... If you don't mind..." the man said while fidgeting nervously on the spot, "c-could you give it to me?"

  
Nino laughed and handed the bear to him.

  
"Take it.  I think it'll like it better at your place than here, " Nino said. The man laughed and took it gratefully, and Nino's heart thudded in his chest when he caught sight of the man's red fingers.

  
"...  Your fingers..."

  
"Ah!  They're alright. It's dried red acrylic paint so they won't dirty him. I'm an artist, " the man said," Ohno Satoshi. Nice to meet you. "

Nino stared at him, his jaw dropping open as the pieces of the puzzle started to come together.

 

" Ah, how nice... " Ohno said as he gave the teddy bear a slight hug and shuffled slowly away," to think that it's on my birthday too... "

 

"... Hey!" Nino called,  and Ohno stopped and turned around.

  
"... Can I treat you to a meal for saving my life? " Nino asked, now pretty sure about what his teddy bear had meant by its message. Ohno gave a thoughtful look and smiled back at him.

  
"Sure,"  he said and shuffled back towards him, "give me your number. I'll call you later." Nino reached over to take the teddy bear from him and hugged for one last time.

"Thank you.. thank you so much..." he whispered.

Meanwhile, the scribbled piece of paper lying on Nino's bedside table started to shrivel up and disintegrate slowly into nothing.


End file.
